UK net migration dropped to an estimated 171,000 last year, the lowest level since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figure for the 12 months to December 2024 is down 48% compared with the previous year's 331,000.
It is the first time the estimate has fallen below 200,000 since the Covid-19 outbreak. In the year to March 2021, net migration stood at 132,000 when travel restrictions were still in place. The continued fall is driven by fewer arrivals from outside the EU for work, the ONS said.
Excluding pandemic-affected years, net migration in 2025 was the lowest for any 12-month period since the year to September 2012, when it stood at 157,000. Some 813,000 people are estimated to have arrived in 2025, while 642,000 left.
The figures could lead to renewed calls for Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's immigration policies to be watered down. Former deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner has voiced concerns about proposals to double the time to qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five to 10 years.
Marley Morris of the Institute for Public Policy Research said the Government's progress 'should prompt a more measured debate', warning that an 'excessively tough approach now runs the risk of making policy for the pressures of three years ago'. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp urged Labour to reform ILR 'before their hard-left flank forces them to abandon it altogether'.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the figures show his Government is 'delivering' on its promise to 'restore control to our borders'. Home Secretary Mahmood acknowledged 'real progress' but said 'there is still work to do', introducing a skills-based migration system. The Refugee Council's Jon Featonby welcomed progress on ending asylum hotels but said families fleeing war have 'almost no safe and legal way to reach the UK'.
